Planning
was probably in its heyday a hundred or a thousand years ago.It seems to me we are now pretty well planned
out.What we need now is some thoughtful
de-planning. Perhaps we could solve the equation of how many people would
result in the highest quality of life for man and beast alike. The Sonoma County Planning Commission could remove
rules and regulations restricting fireplaces, water usage, and zoning
rules.Public works projects could work
on removing and simplifying our infrastructure. Instead of drawing plans of
different zoning districts and regulating the size limits of guest houses planners
could establish population limits and let the world pretty much take its
natural course.An illustrative example
of what’s wrong with our typical approach to planning is not unlike The Department
of Fish and Game’s management of wildlife (i.e. wildlife planning).We foul up rivers to the point that fish can
no longer maintain their natural existence, so we build fish hatcheries and
artificially prolong survival. The thinking here is all wrong. The fish don’t need our help, the river does.If we don’t screw up the river (and ocean) and
overpressure the fish they will do fine. The river doesn’t need artificial
habitat it needs natural habitat – an ecosystem free of excessive population
and its disregard for the river and its surroundings.

So
what about planning?Stop myopic planning
year to year and devise a big plan or at least a plan that is viable for the
next 10,000 years or so.A plan that
allows nature to continue her work free from the indignant pokes and inept
management of man. Some planning efforts are commendable, but the planner’s
list of dos and don’ts can’t help but appear arbitrary and out of date even before
the ink dries.The world is more complex
than their rules can reasonably address – it’s moving too fast, and there are new
and insightful proposals well beyond the capability of the average bureaucrat
to grasp.Regulatory response to the
physical world has given way to looks, fads, and rules of thumb.This is not improving the quality of lives in
any meaningful way; it’s just kicking the can down the freeway.